Simple egg and spinach breakfast idea

It's been a while...a lot of stuff happened in our lives, so I had to take a break from blogging, which doesn't mean that I also took a break from cooking 😋
Long story short, I have a lot of pics and a lot of healthy and tasty meals to share.
For today, a simple (but effective) breakfast idea, with three food groups included in it. You will need:
Ingredients for 2 portions:
- a bit of butter;
- 2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves, blanched (if you want, you can add a little garlic);
- 2 Tbsp sour cream;
- 1/2 tomato or red bell pepper,diced;
- 2 eggs;
- any spices of your choice (you can simply add salt and pepper or even skip the salt if you have small babies).

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Grease (with butter) 2 ramekins or 2 muffin tins / molds.
3. Blanch and then drain the spinach eaves. Divide in two equal parts and place them in the ramekins.
4. Add one spoonful of sour cream in each mold, then the diced tomato / bell pepper and, finally, put one egg in each ramekin.
5. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the egg yolk gets the desired texture. For kids it should be completely processed, to avoid the risk of salmonella. To be sure it's not runny, after 15 minutes of baking remove the ramekin from the oven, pierce the egg yolk with a knife and bake again for another 10 minutes, until the egg is completely done.

 

 

Enjoy!

Crustless cheesecake

I made this very quick recipe only because I had some mascarpone cheese that I needed to consume. The cheesecake turned out to be so good, creamy and pleasant, that I think I will make it again for this coming Easter, maybe with a biscuit or tart crust.

Ingredients:
- 500g mascarpone;
- 450g fresh cows cheese / ricotta;
- 4 eggs;
- seeds of a vanilla bean;
- one banana (very ripe, but not black);
- one cup fresh or frozen berries.

Method:
Turn on the oven on 160 degrees Celsius.
Place the cows cheese, mascarpone and mashed banana in a bowl and mix (using the hand mixer) until smooth. Continue by using a spoon! Add the eggs one by one and mix well, then add the vanilla seeds.
Pour the batter in molds (you can use silicone muffin molds or a cake tin, I combined both) and bake it in the oven for 45-60 minutes (depending on the molds' dimension). When set, turn off the oven, open the oven's door just a little bit and leave the molds in there for 15 more minutes, them remove and let them cool on the table. After they are completely cooled, place them in a fridge for about 1h, then you can remove the cheesecakes.
Serve with whole berries or make a sauce by blending the fruit.
Enjoy!

Courgette and goat cheese clafoutis

On March 21st, famous chefs and restaurants from all around the world participated in the 3rd edition of the event "Gout de France / Good France" (more details aici), dedicated to the French cuisine. To be in line with the international events, I decided to prepare a French recipe for the kids - a courgette and goat cheese clafoutis. 

Clafoutis is a traditional dessert from the French region Limousin and it is similar to a no-crust tart, traditionally prepared with black cherries. Last year I tried a sour-cherry clafoutis and this time I found this recipe with courgettes and goat cheese, which seemed very tempting.

Ingredients:

- 2 small courgettes (or 1 large);

- 2 eggs;

- 150 ml milk;

- 40g flour;

- 150 g fresh cheese (I used goat cheese but I'm sure cow cheese works as well);

- basil, thyme, pepper and salt by taste (if no sodium restrictions);

- a little butter to grease the molds.

Method:

Turn on the oven and let it heat up to 200 degres Celsius.

Wash the courgettes and slice them (skin on). Bake the slices in a non-sticky pan (no oil) on both sides, until most of the water from the courgette evaporates. Remove from heat and place the slices in a strainer. Set aside. 

In a bowl, whisk the eggs with a fork, then add the cheese, flour and milk and mix well. Season by taste.
Prepare the molds for baking (the original recipe calls for a 20 cm round silicone mold, but I used a ceramic rectangular one and two ramekins) and grease them with butter (no need to grease if using silicone molds).

Place the courgette slices in the molds and pour the batter on top (you can also put the courgettes in the batter and then pour everything in molds - however you prefer).

Bake in the preheated oven (200 degrees Celsius), until the batter is set and the top becomes golden brown (35-45 minutes).
Enjoy!
 

Oven baked crispy chicken strips

I tested the oven baked crispy strips, a recipe that is very popular among moms with small children (these strips are easy to handle and make a great meal) and also among fast food lovers. They turned out great, but I recommend to make them in small amounts (as much as your family will eat at one meal) as the chicken breast hardens after it gets cold.

Ingredients:
- 1 piece boneless chicken breast;
- 2 eggs;
- 1 cup bread crumbs;
- 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (optional);
- 100 g yogurt.
* This recipe does not contain salt; if you don't have restrictions add salt and pepper to the raw meat strips and also add a bit of salt in the whisked eggs.

Method:
Cut the chicken breast into strips (add condiments by taste) and cover it in yogurt. If you have time, leave the chicken and yogurt mix it in the fridge for 1-2 h, covered with cling film (the crispy strips will be tenderer in the middle).
Place the bread crumbs in a large plate and whisk the eggs in a bowl (add a little salt, by taste).
Place each of the meat strips (covered in yogurt) in the bread crumbs and turn it on all sides, until completely covered. Then, dip the meat strip in the whisked eggs and place it again on the bread crumbs plate (turn it on all sides).  Finally, place the strip on a tray lined with baking paper. Repeat until you finish all meat. Sprinkle all the strips with Parmesan cheese (optional).

Place the tray in the preheated oven (200 degrees Celsius) for about 20-30 minutes (the time depends on the size of the strips), until they become golden brown.

Serve them hot, next to steamed vegetables and a yogurt dip.

Enjoy!

Oven baked veggie patties

Ingredients:
- 1 big courgette (zucchini);
- 2 carrots;
- 1 egg;
- 4-6 Tbsp flour or bread crumbs.

Peel and grate the vegetables, then drain them well (by either squeezing them with your hand or using a strainer or a clean cloth). Add the egg and 4 Tbsp bread-crumbs or flour and mix well. You have to get a thick mixture that can be shaped by hand. Depending on the size of the egg and veggies, you might need to add 1-2 extra Tbsp of flour or bread-crumbles. Once you get a firm enough texture, wet your hands and form the patties. Place them on a tray lined with baking paper and flatten them gently with your hand (if they are thinner they will bake faster).
Place the tray in the preheated oven (180 degrees Celsius) and bake for about 1/2h (depending on the size of the patties). Enjoy!

Mini tarts with bread crust

My daughters usually have omelets for breakfast so, for a little change, I decided to improve the presentation, without changing the ingredients. I added a bread crust and I made some mini-tarts / layered omelets (or however you like to call them): one layer of bread, one layer of spinach omelet and one layer of omelet with mushrooms, topped with cherry tomato slices. You need very little preparation time and they look very festive.  

Ingredients:
- 2 very thin slices of bread;
- one handful of spinach /mangold; 
- 4-5 small champignon mushrooms;
- 2 eggs;
- 4-5 cherry tomatoes (or a normal size tomato).

Method:


Break the bread slices into pieces and add a thin layer of bread in every silicon mold (in the first ones I put whole pieces and in the last ones I just places the small pieces left - they will stick together after baking because of the egg on top) and gently press with your fingers. Blanch and chop the spinach, finely chop the mushrooms and slice the tomatoes.


In two separate bowl whisk two eggs. Add the spinach to the first bowl and the mushrooms to the second. Add one spoonful from every bowl into every silicon mold.   






Top with tomato slices and bake in the preheated oven, at 190 degrees C, for 20-30 minutes, until the omelet and the tomato slices are completely baked.

   

Let the mini-tarts cool in the mold then serve (in the last 5 minutes of baking you can add on top of each mini-tart a slice of mozzarella or some grated yellow cheese)
Enjoy!

Three (absolutely delicious) types of quiche

The quiches were the absolute stars of the Sunday party. I made them the day night before, without having a specific idea about how they should turn out. I just got creative and used the ingredients I liked in a random way. I made three quiches: one with prosciutto, hard cheese and spring onions, one with chicken fillet, hard cheese and red bell pepper and one with 2 kinds of cheese, mushrooms, bell pepper and spring onion.

I made the crust after one of Jamie Oliver's recipes (the original here), with just three ingredients:
- 300g white flour;
- 150g unsalted butter,
- 90-120 ml cold water.

(I tripled the quantities, to get 3 tarts.)
Place the flour in a bowl, add the cold butter, diced and mix with your fingertips until you get a sandy mixture. Add about 100 ml cold water (add it slowly, as you might need a little bit less or a little bit more water, depending on the flour), until you get a firm dough. Form a ball,cover it with cling film and leave it in the fridge for about 30 minutes (I made 3 balls of dough, for the 3 tarts).

Meanwhile, prepare the toppings. You can choose virtually any combination of meat, cheese, vegetables. I used 3 combinations and the quantities I used were inspired by another one of Jamie Oliver's recipes (the original here).

Prosciutto and hard cheese quiche


Ingredients:
- 200g prosciutto;
- 200g hard (yellow) cow cheese, grated;
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced;
- 2 whole eggs;
- 2 egg yolks;
- 250 ml cow's milk;
- 250 ml sour cream;
- a pinch of nutmeg.

Method: Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out on a flat surface (little floured) until you get a shape and a size similar to the tart tin. Place it over the tin (lightly buttered) and press with the fingers to make sure it covers the whole surface and the sides. Cut the excess dough that hangs out from the tin, using a sharp knife. Place the tin back in the fridge for 30-40 minutes.

Remove the tart tin from the fridge, pierce it a few times with a fork (so that it wouldn't form air bubbles underneath) and place in the oven. Bake at 190 Celsius until the dough becomes golden (about 20 minutes).
Remove from the oven, let cool for a few minutes and add the toppings - prosciutto, grated cheese and spring onions.
Mix well  the eggs, egg yolks, cream, milk and nutmeg and pour the resulting liquid carefully over the tart. Place back in the oven for 30-40 more minutes or until the top becomes golden brown.
Once completely baked, remove the tart from the oven and let it cool in the tin. When it's cooled you can remove it from the tin and place it on a platter.


Quiche with chicken breast, hard cheese and red bell pepper  

Ingredients:
- 200g chicken breast / chicken fillet, roasted or boiled;
- 200g hard (yellow) cow cheese, grated;
- half of a red bell pepper, finely chopped;
- 2 eggs;
- 2 egg yolks;
- 250 ml cow's milk;
- 250 ml sour cream;
- a pinch of nutmeg.

Method: Remove a ball of dough from the fridge, roll it out on a flat surface (little floured) until you get a shape and a size similar to the tart tin. Place it over the tin (lightly buttered) and press with the fingers to make sure it covers the whole surface and the sides. Cut the excess dough that hangs out from the tin, using a sharp knife. Place the tin back in the fridge for 30-40 minutes.

Remove the tart tin from the fridge, pierce it a few times with a fork (so that it wouldn't form air bubbles underneath) and place in the oven. Bake at 190 Celsius until the dough becomes golden (about 20 minutes).
Remove from the oven, let cool for a few minutes and add the toppings - chicken, grated cheese and bell pepper pieces.
Mix well  the eggs, egg yolks, cream, milk and nutmeg and pour the resulting liquid carefully over the tart. Place back in the oven for 30-40 more minutes or until the top becomes golden brown.
Once completely baked, remove the tart from the oven and let it cool in the tin. When it's cooled you can remove it from the tin and place it on a platter.

Vegetarian quiche, with 2 types of cheese, mushrooms, red bell pepper and spring onions 

Ingredients:
- 200g fresh cow's cheese (or any other cheese you like);
-200g hard (yellow) cow's cheese, grated;
- 5-6 champignon mushrooms;
- 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped;
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced.
- 2 eggs;
- 2 egg yolks;
- 250 ml cow's milk;
- 250 ml sour cream;
- a pinch of nutmeg.

Method: Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out on a flat surface (little floured) until you get a shape and a size similar to the tart tin. Place it over the tin (lightly buttered) and press with the fingers to make sure it covers the whole surface and the sides. Cut the excess dough that hangs out from the tin, using a sharp knife. Place the tin back in the fridge for 30-40 minutes.

Remove the tart tin from the fridge, pierce it a few times with a fork (so that it wouldn't form air bubbles underneath) and place in the oven. Bake at 190 Celsius until the dough becomes golden (about 20 minutes).
Remove from the oven, let cool for a few minutes and add the toppings - the twi kinds of cheese and the vegetables.
Mix well  the eggs, egg yolks, cream, milk and nutmeg and pour the resulting liquid carefully over the tart. Place back in the oven for 30-40 more minutes or until the top becomes golden brown.
Once completely baked, remove the tart from the oven and let it cool in the tin. When it's cooled you can remove it from the tin and place it on a platter.


Enjoy!


Photo credits: Tamara Boskovic Dereta (facebook  / instagram)